Davey Johnson and his club play their next six games in Southern California.

Until enough games are completed this season for us to make a reasonable determination how good the Nationals really are, each week will present a new challenge and an interesting test of this club's legitimacy.

The latest test begins tonight in San Diego, with Davey Johnson's team opening a six-game, West Coast road trip that concludes Sunday in Los Angeles.

Not that these are the two toughest teams the Nationals will face this season (though the Dodgers have gotten off to a fantastic start) but trips out west have never been easy for this franchise.

Consider the Nationals' all-time record at Petco Park (8-14) and Dodger Stadium (5-15). They've won only one series at either ballpark in theirRead more »

It all depends on starting pitching and you have to feel good starting out with Gio as long as he continues to pound the zone. I just hope the lineup gets off it's duff and provide Jordan with some serious early run support. It gets old watching him have to be perfect every start.

Well, if the Nats play .500 ball the rest of the way, they'll finish 85-77. All it will take over the rest of the season is a .534 winning percentage (78-68) to hit 90 wins.Hopefully the league worst Padres will give us a bit of a boost before we play the league best Dodgers!Also, no more anonymous posts? I'm ok with that.

Amen on the run support for Jordan!Everything will come down to pitching this year. Let's hope we get some timely hitting to back it up. I am sure the team would like one laugher. Hopefully we get at least one on this road trip.In other good news, the Braves/Phillies/Mets all lost last night. And a pitcher that we beat up quite a bit last year – Jurrjens got sent down to the minors.

Really? Jurrjens got sent down? He was supposed to be their wunderkind. I watched Livo pitch. Freddi got four excellent innings out of him and then got greedy, let him bat for himself and that was that, the game went from 5-2 to 7-2. Still a pleasure to watch Livo field, so effortless on those bunts and infield nibblers.

Should be interesting against the Padres. Surprising stat of the day – they lead the NL in walks with 68, and are second (tied with NYY) overall, only behind the Tribe with 76. But they are also 4th (overall) in strikeouts with 134. I guess don't expect a whole lot of balls in play for the home team.

I like the Nats' chances the first two in San Diego behind Gio and Zimmermann, and Saturday in LA behind Strasburg (though Billingsly has given them fits in the past). It's hard to pick them Friday against Kershaw.The pivotal game for the road trip may be Jackson's start in San Diego. If he can rebound and pitch well, they have a very good shot at a .500 or better trip.

If you have MLB.tv, check out the end of the 6th inning in the Stros-MIL game. Nyjer got HBP, and it's unbelievable what the announcers say (how great a teammate he is, how he doesn't let his slump affect the team, etc. etc.)The bases are loaded and the Weeks hits a shallow popup, Gamel tags from 3rd, and slams his shoulder into Castro's head. Gamel is out, Castro seems OK and Mil announcers claim it's a "clean hit" but boy it sure looked scary.

Mark wrote….But until Zimmerman's name appears on the lineup card that will be handed to umpires shortly before first pitch at 10:05 p.m. EDT, there will be at least some fear that Zimmerman's injury is more severe than he's acknowledged.__________________________I'm thinking not only that but then playing each game after that without pain.

NatsLady said… Really? Jurrjens got sent down? He was supposed to be their wunderkind. April 24, 2012 7:39 AM ______________________________Where did you hear JJ was sent down? Remember when the Braves were trying to trade him to the Orioles. Many thought at the time the Braves were trying to move "damaged goods".

MicheleS, thanks for the link. Kind of surprising some of these players didn't Google Davey and do a bit of research on his career.I can guarantee you Bryce Harper knows all about Davey's playing career and hitting 43 HRs when he got traded to Atlanta.

Gonat, the thing that I like most is how much they all GUSH about Davey. I particularly like RZ's comment on how Davey believes in them and that had never happened in the time that he has been on the team. I think that is very telling. As long as Davey and Rizzo are the same page, this team will be really good. All we have to do is look up to Boston to see how a bad Manager/Player or Manager/GM relationship can impact a season. Thankfully, the Lerners are not as meddlesome as Lucchino/Henry – or at least they don't appear that way in public – which is how I like my owners.

Regarding Morgan, I think announcers from all (many) teams talk about all players being great teammates regardless of whether they really are. I'm not saying Morgan is not a good teammate, just that the testimony has lost it's veracity. More specifically on Morgan, if he got hit by a pitch and went down to 1B like he's supposed to then good for him. Those who don't learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

The beautiful thing about what Rizzo's done the past couple of years is that the template he's laid down here with the strong scouting and minor leagues can remain in place even after the current front office has moved on – Mark Lerner has gone to school on how to run a quality organization and we stand to benefit for quite some time.

Whatsanattau–yes, agreed. I went into see why/how Morgan got hit. He got hit in the leg, and trotted down to 1B–no drama that I could see. With the bases loaded, and knowing from the score that MIL wasn't going to get any runs, I watched the rest of the inning to see how the Stros got out of the jam. That's when I saw the collision and started wondering–my impression was that would be a penalty in football for aiming your shoulder at a guy's head like that.

Question — did Zim hit that home run before or after he did his football-ish dive? I hope all is well and he is going to heat up. Not sure if this layoff is a good thing for rest and rejuvenation or a bad thing for loss of momentum and rustiness.

So this is the third week of the season and so by weekend, Morse will be 3 weeks into his 6-8 weeks with no baseball activity. Followed, I assume by 2 weeks of baseball activity before he can be activated (assuming the rest has helped). So still looking like late June/early July right? Shirley, there must be an outfielder available for trade to tide us over?

This westcoast road trip will serve as a great barometer of how our pitching will be against great competition (the dodgers anyway) Im thinking if we can go 3-3 or 4-2, that will be good. On another note, when we go back home, enough with the gatorade showers. It was cool the first time, but after the third, it's starting to become pathetic. Enough with the boys will be boys crap. Lets save the gatorade shower until after we at least capture a playoff berth.

I'm with you swami; Saturday seems like forever ago, while I'm glad Zimm didn't have to miss another game I hope the team isn't adversely affected by the "extended" layoff, you hate to miss a day when you're playing as well as we were. Silver lining is that the big 3 are lined up for the Phils so hopefully that holds up, not to mention the bullpen is now well rested for the west coast swing.

Thanks for the link Michele – I tried the one on MLB.com last night and it just kept showing a Grass Clippings video. Too bad for Jurrjens, there was a time when he pitched well against us – until Livo called and hit that home run! Oh, and then wasn't there that double play Livo turned on Jurrjens' bunt attempt? Livo goes to Atlanta, you knew Jurrjens was in trouble one way or another.

It's great that Gi-O gets two starts in sunny CA. His issues at Wrigley may have been due to the cold – a curve ball takes exact "feel" to throw it right. Let's chalk up 2 more series wins. Go Nats!!I, too, was thrilled to see all the love that Pudge got in Texas. The Rangers and their fans did it up right. His first pitch fom behind the plate to 2nd base wad a great touch and great idea by one of our Nats Insiders.

I feel so bad for Jair. Still feel bad for Perez — these guys who are good, and then suddenly all scrambled. I know it happens in all roles and professions, but it is so much more visible in pitchers. On another note, I'm feeling so grateful that we had Pudge in our park so often these last few years. Also glad to see Steve M back…

"Shirley, there must be an outfielder available for trade to tide us over?"Pay the man, Shirley?There is an endless supply of .230 hitters — and at this point of the season it's impossible to tell who is a .230 hitter and who is a .275 hitter.

While I did "call" the first pitch configuration on here the other day, I saw where Pudge told a Yankees writer that it was his idea to throw from home plate. I'll chalk that one up to great minds think alike.

whatsanattau-I may be wrong but I think the six week shutdown clock started a week into the regular season, not on opening day. Remember he experienced a setback on his rehab assignment, not in spring training. The announcement came a day or two before the home opener on April 12. So I assume the shutdown won't end until Memorial Day weekend. After that he'll have to test it slowly, get back to baseball activities, and then do a week or so rehab assignment. My guess is that best case scenario we still don't see him until late June.

These series' are a big test also because in the past I recall the "rested and rejuvenated" that's supposed to come from a nice break like this never came like it should have. Seems like they always tanked when they got a break coming off a tear so I've got my fingers crossed.

Re: Morse . . . I was confused by Rizzo's comment, "We didn't have a viable surgical solution." At first, I thought he meant, "This isn't something that can be fixed w/ surgery." After repeated rumors that Morse will require surgery, I'm thinking he meant, "We don't have a surgical solution that will get him back on the field this season." I am totally speculating but, if this turns out to require surgery, I'm ready to blame the player for following a lifting program that resulted in a deep tissue injury that won't respond to rest and conventional therapy. It's my belief that, unless players are under the direct supervision of the team's strength and conditioning staff, their tendency is to go hog wild and confuse building muscle with conditioning. Does anyone know whether Morse spent his winter working out in Washington or whether he was home — wherever that is? I recall Ripken talking about Brady Anderson's 3-4 hour post-game lifting sessions. Other than making him look good in a short-sleeve uniform, I don't know that it really did much for his career (after the 50 HR season).

Re: Morse. I believe only Lombo, RZ, and Werth live around here in the winter. When Ramos came here for that press-conference, I recall discussion of RZ and Lombo working out daily at the Nats facility.

Re: Morse, Brady Anderson, and lifting – don't forget that Brady was using Creatine at the time of his 50 HR season. That may have abetted his lifting program.Did you see the segment on the MLB Network before the season opened with Joe Morgan and Bryce Haper in the weight room? Talk about lifting scary amounts of weight – Morgan even cracked something like "hey Mike Rizzo, do you see what your boy is doing in here?"I completely agree – the job of the strength and conditioning coach is as much to rein them in on a safe and effective program as it is to challenge them.

Navy Nats Fan, definitely core training with flexibility for all players. Need to add muscle to all muscle groups for position players not just upper body while pitchers can concentrate more on core training and lower body strength training.

Not going to comment on CMW (you all know I am a big fan) except to say I hope his family forgives him, that is tough. Speaking of FLorida, I notice Storen didn't go to the West Coast(he was spotted at a Caps game). Does this mean he will be heading down to Viera to resume baseball and pitching activities?

NatsJack, trust me, the Steve M above is not the Steve M who you talked to on the cell in Florida. Someone trying to be funny like Ghost Of SteveM.My techie friend set this up with the password for me so Hi to everyone.I did swipe the Ghost Of Steve M. so that person will need a new name. My buddy gave me the funny Avatar from Spring Training that he took.

Wait, Steve M was posting anonymously? I think my head is going to explode. That story about Wang reminded me for some reason of Mark Sanford and hiking the Appalachian Trial. Hope this one has a happier ending.Very glad the Pads scheduled tomorrow's game for a weird 3:30 PST start time. Otherwise, this would be an even more painful week at work. Looking forward to seeing Gio go to work in a nice spacious park that's even more pitcher friendly than the Oakland Coliseum. We're 5.5 games ahead of the Phils!

And in REALLY important news – The STH presale for the Springsteen concert has been announced. Special one-time use passcode for season ticket holders. 10am tommorrow. Expect light posting.If you haven't received an email call your STH rep!

These series' are a big test also because in the past I recall the "rested and rejuvenated" that's supposed to come from a nice break like this never came like it should have. I remember the same thing. Plus, all the starters are now going to be pitching on two extra days rest — and we've heard Davey say that an extra day is not necessarily a good thing for some of them. Hopefully, the break has been good for our over-taxed bullpen.

Just got an email about a pre-sale for Springsteen tickets for STHs. It starts tomorrow at 10 am. The email says that if the tickets (max of 6 per customer, and 2 parking passes) purchased through this opportunity appear on the secondary market they are subject to cancellation. First time I've seen anything like that.

Thanks NatsNut – it took me awhile to remember the punchline, but I think I answered at 1031, but I can't remember for sure.Sec 222, on the Springsteen sale, where did you get the 6 tix / 2 parking pass info? It's not in my email. Can you click through to the sale site? I can't – I wonder if I have a firewall issue. May need to take leave tomorrow.

Mark Zuckerman said… Could the people who have registered as "Steve M" and "Ghost of Steve M" please email me so we can get this straightened out? zuckerman12@gmail.com. Thanks. April 24, 2012 10:43 AM Mark, in the email is my personal email address. If you want to email me there I will give you my cellphone.Its a shame someone wants to play games and take my name.

Talking about Morse's weightlifting routine, he wrote a response to someone who is leaving the country in August that he should be back before July.I'm hoping that means we will see Michael Morse in games in June 2012. From Ladson: Regardless of the impressive record the Nats have, should we be worried about their lack of offense? — Alex C., Montreal After Sunday's action, the Nationals ranked 20th in the Major Leagues in offense, with a .243 batting average. It's too early to panic. Let's see what happens in the next couple of weeks. If they don't get Michael Morse back soon, then I would start to worry about the offense. The Nats haven't received any production out of left field. You can't say the Nats haven't received "any" production out of left field although it has been light. Bernadina the last week has started to produce and like I said early in Spring Training, how's about this Lombardozzi kid getting some reps in Left field?

NatsJack in Florida said… Ghost of Steve M……. Yep. I know it's you and the other is the imposter. Sorry for getting fooled like that.Just a little more crud to be banished from our Nats family here at NI. April 24, 2012 11:20 AM Thanks. Some troll saw an opening to swipe my name and make some jokes.Thanks to a friend who doesn't post here but reads all the time and signed me up and notified me. Certainly there are many duplications of names and some like SJM is another Steve M., but don't take someone's name they have posted under consistently for years here and try to assume my identity.

It will be interesting for the pitchers how the 2 extra days of rest will help them. I think EJax needed the extra days and with Detwiler, I am hoping we can see some 7 inning performances out of him.To see him at #2 in ERA behind Kyle Lohse and ahead of all the Cy Young candidates makes for some interesting conversation.Still too early to make a lot out of 2 weeks of stats although nothing wrong with being cautiously optimistic.

Section 3, My PFB Sofa said… Steve M, the handles are not exclusive, go ahead and use it. April 24, 2012 10:33 AM I think the other person has gone away. The Ghost of Steve M. is fine for now. My friend that set it up said he couldn't do it on the site. Not sure what that means. As you know, I'm far from computer literate and far from literate on other subjects. I do have a face for radio!

Interesting …Now that we all are using our registered accounts, and I have several, have had many for many years … people ARE STILL masquerading as other posters?I suppose you're going to blame me for that as well Mark? I'm still waiting for you to start policing the people who post far too many times as you did me?As someone who actually is technically literate I can say this whole deal was silly. This is nothing compared to what happens on the Redskins blog on the post site. Doesn't even compare. I suspect that may be due to the significant age difference and range here. IMO that's not a good thing for the Nats. They need those younger fans to embrace them as much as they have the Redskins. Doubtless those poor fools will never see a Superbowl game with the Redskins in it as long as Snyder owns the team. Now, there's a guy you would have serious problems with on this or any other blog based on some of the things I've heard him say.As someone who is technically literate all I'll just say what my dad likes to say, "fooey on you you should be using your heads for something besides a hat rack". I found the anonymii entertaining and enjoyed poking at them as much as anyone I suppose. But that's me.

DearGhost – I would never take anyone's name & besides, they would know immediately by my lack of knowledge. It has always been kind of interesting that we have myself, sm13 , and SteveM.While I love our start, I will take 3-3 on this trip.

For some reason, whenever the schedule comes out before each season I immediately look to see when the Nats are going out West. Just love the late-night West coast trips for some reason: nothing better than watching my team claw back at 1:30 on a Friday night. Can't wait for this series in LA, should make national headlines. Go Nats!

Ok, I think I've got it now. Since I completely forgot that I had a Blogger account, I had just been posting as RPrecupjr. So this is my handle from now on then. Still the same font of useless knowledge that I've always been and still the same rabid Nats fan. While I agree with those who have said thay'll take 3-3 on this West Coast swing, I'd LOVE 4-2, though it will probably take a sweep of SD to accomplish that. Detwiler may pitch his butt off on Friday, but we'll still be facing Kershaw with our wet noodle bats. Here's hoping he has his one off day of the month against us.

I agree about the Friday night games Max, it's the extra-inning, not-over-until-2:30am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning games that kill me. I'll be hitting the store for Diet Mountain Dew after work today.

417b620e-8e2f-11e1-b06f-000bcdca4d7a said… Trying something here, hope it works April 24, 2012 1:02 PM 417b620e-8e2f-11e1-b06f-000bcdca4d7a said… Yikes, that is NOT what I was expecting. Let me try again. April 24, 2012 1:03 PM _____________________Safe to say that NOBODY will try to hijack THAT name…

Hmmm … I notice that D C Wonk one of the loudest when it came to anonymous posters has yet to make an appearance …~smiles~Makes you wonder eh Mark?_________________I think it may take some folks a while to register on the new system…It took me some time to figure it out and I suppose there are more like me (the techno-impaired)

Thanks to my fellow SM'sI just read Wangs apology and I realize there is a cultural divide but it is a true apology. None of that "if I offended anyone I am sorry" crap.Two years ago I made a very serious mistake. I will not and cannot excuse myself for this mistake,” Wang said, according to translated accounts. “To my family and friends who love and support me, I will not even dare to ask for your forgiveness, but I want to express my most deep apology.”If only other people (not just athletes) could step up and offer that type of apology. I am all about forgiveness and second chances and this guy just got that and more from me.Peric, you will never let it go but just breath easy and things will get better. Go sharpen your rapier or something. We are doing fine here with or without you.

Peric – you and I agree more then you realize – I like Gorzelanny a bunch and always have. I have agreed with you that he throws hard, can fill many different roles and is a valuable piece. I remember how really good he was in Pittsburgh and think they probably misused him as a young starter.I am better off no matter what is said on the blog. Retired, happy, a spousal equivalent that allows me to enjoy baseball, and more luck then one man can have.

I would like to see Lombardozzi see more time in the outfield. He seems to be enough of an athlete that given an opportunity to get comfortable he could excel. I have been extremely dissapointed in LaROsa's hitting and underwhelmed by his play in the outfield.